Mobile terminal and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A mobile terminal including a flexible display unit configured to be bent in response to an applied physical force; a detection unit configured to detect a bending of the flexible display unit; and a control unit configured to execute at least one of a first function or a second function in response to the bending of the flexible display unit. Further, the second function is executed when the bending of the flexible display unit is maintained for a reference time, the second function being executed after the first function is executed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.No. 13/615,970 filed Sep. 14, 2012, which claims the benefit of earlierfiling date and right of priority to Korean Application No.10-2012-0051151 filed on May 14, 2012 and European Application No.12003248.7, filed on May 3, 2012. The contents of all of theseapplications are hereby expressly incorporated by reference as fully setforth herein, in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal including a flexibledisplay unit and a control method thereof.

2. Background of the Invention

Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationaryterminals according to whether or not the terminals are movable. Inaddition, the mobile/portable terminals may be divided into handheldterminals and vehicle mount terminals according to whether or not theterminals can be directly carried by users.

As the functionality of such terminals is diversified, the terminalshave been implemented in the form of a multimedia player having complexfunctions including, for example, photographing or video capturingfunctions, music or video file playback functions, game play functions,broadcast reception functions, etc. To support and increase thefunctionality of such terminals, consideration to improve hardware partsand/or software parts of the terminal may be made.

In general, terminals have been developed in various types of designs,and accordingly, flexible displays have come into the spotlight becauseof their light and unbreakable characteristics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an aspect of the detailed description is to provide a mobileterminal capable of generating a control command using thecharacteristic of a flexible display, in which bending is possible, anda control method of the mobile terminal.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, amobile terminal includes a flexible display unit configured to be bentcorresponding to a physical force applied from an outside thereof, adetection unit configured to detect bending of the flexible display unitand a time for which the bending is maintained, and a control unitconfigured to generate different control signals related to functions ofthe mobile terminal including the flexible display unit, according tothe time for which the bending is maintained.

In one embodiment, when the bending of the flexible display unit isrestored, the control unit may perform a function corresponding to thegenerated control signal based on the time for which the bending ismaintained.

In one embodiment, the control unit may generate a first control signalrelated to a first function when the bending is maintained for a firstreference time, and generate a second control signal related to a secondfunction different from the first function when the bending ismaintained for a second reference time different from the firstreference time.

In one embodiment, the control unit may perform a locking mode forrestricting an input of a control command for an application, inresponse to that the bending of the flexible display unit is maintainedfor the first reference time, and finish a system of the mobile terminalso that the supply of power to the mobile terminal is stopped, inresponse to that the bending of the flexible display unit is maintainedfor the second reference time.

In one embodiment, the control unit may control the detection unit todetect the bending of the flexible display unit and the time for whichthe bending is maintained, in response to that an event occurs in themobile terminal.

In one embodiment, the control unit may perform different functionsrelated to the event, according to the time for which the bending ismaintained.

In one embodiment, the event may be a call reception event, and thecontrol unit may perform a call reception function, in response to thecall reception event, so that a call corresponding to the call receptionevent is received when the bending of the flexible display unit ismaintained for the first reference time, and perform a message function,in response to the call reception event, so that a message correspondingto the call reception event is transmitted to an external terminal whenthe bending of the flexible display unit is maintained for the secondreference time.

In one embodiment, a plurality of items respectively corresponding to aplurality of functions to be performed in related to the event may bedisplayed on the flexible display unit, and the control unit may performa function corresponding to any one of the plurality of items accordingto the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit ismaintained.

In one embodiment, the function performed according to the time forwhich the bending of the flexible display unit is maintained may bebased on an order in which the plurality of items are disposed.

In one embodiment, the control unit may determine a function to beperformed corresponding to the time for which the bending of theflexible display unit is maintained, and highlight an item correspondingto the determined function among the plurality of items so that the itemis distinguished from the other items.

In one embodiment, the highlighted item among the plurality of items maybe changed depending on the time for which the bending of the flexibledisplay unit is maintained.

In one embodiment, a popup window for informing that the event hasoccurred may be output on the flexible display unit, and a plurality ofitems respectively corresponding to a plurality of functions related tothe event may be displayed on the popup window.

In one embodiment, the control unit may perform any one of the pluralityof functions based on the time for which the bending is maintained whenthe bending of the flexible display unit is made corresponding to areference direction, and finish displaying the popup window when thebending of the flexible display unit is made corresponding to adirection opposite to the reference direction.

In one embodiment, the information displayed on the flexible displayunit based on the control signal may be changed based on at least one ofa bending position of the flexible display unit, a speed at which thebending position is changed, and a bending direction of the flexibledisplay unit.

In one embodiment, when the speed at which the bending position of theflexible display unit is a reference speed, the control unit scrolls theinformation displayed on the flexible display unit.

In one embodiment, the control unit may magnify or reduce theinformation displayed on the flexible display unit, based on the bendingdirection of the flexible display unit.

To achieve the above aspect of this specification, a control method of amobile terminal including a flexible display unit to be bendedcorresponding to a physical force applied from an outside thereof, thecontrol method includes detecting bending of the flexible display unitand a time for which the bending is maintained, generating differentcontrol signals related to functions of the mobile terminal includingthe flexible display unit, based on the time when the bending ismaintained, and performing a function corresponding to the generatedcontrol signal, in response to that the bending of the flexible displayunit is restored.

In one embodiment, the generating of the control signal may includegenerating a first control signal related to a first function when thebending is maintained for a first reference time, and generating asecond control signal related to a second function different from thefirst function when the bending is maintained for a second referencetime different from the first reference time.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will becomemore apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,it should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments and together with thedescription serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are conceptual diagrams illustrating a flexible displayunit included in the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of generating acontrol signal using the flexible display in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F and 4G are conceptual diagrams illustratingthe control method of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B and 6C are conceptual diagrams illustrating amethod of generating a control signal through the flexible display unitcorresponding to an event in the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are conceptual diagrams illustrating a method ofchanging notification information corresponding to bending of theflexible display unit in the mobile terminal according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are conceptual diagrams illustrating a method ofchanging information displayed on the flexible display unitcorresponding to bending of the flexible display unit in the mobileterminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are conceptual diagrams illustrating a method ofconverting a locking state into a cancellation state using a bendingproperty and time of the flexible display unit in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Description will now be given in detail of the embodiments, withreference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of briefdescription with reference to the drawings, the same or equivalentcomponents will be provided with the same reference numbers, anddescription thereof will not be repeated. In the following description,suffixes “module” and “unit or portion” for components used herein indescription are merely provided only for facilitation of preparing thisspecification, and thus they are not granted a specific meaning orfunction. In the following description, detailed explanation of knownrelated functions and constitutions may be omitted to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the subject manner of the invention. Theaccompanying drawings are merely provided for illustrative purposes andshould not be interpreted to limit the scope of the claims.

Mobile terminals described in this specification may include a cellularphone, smart phone, a laptop computer, a terminal for digital broadcast,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP),a navigator, a slate PC, a tablet PC, an ultra book, etc. However, itcan be readily understood by those skilled in the art thatconfigurations according to embodiments described in this specificationmay be applied to stationary terminals such as a digital TV and adesktop computer, except a case in which the configurations areapplicable to only the mobile terminals.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown, the mobile terminal 100may include a wireless communication unit 110, an audio/video (A/V)input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an outputunit 150, a memory 160, an interface unit 170, a control unit 180, apower supply unit 190, etc. The components shown in FIG. 1 are notessential, and therefore, the terminal 100 may be implemented to have alarger number of components or to have a smaller number of components.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modulesenabling wireless communications between the mobile terminal 100 and awireless communication system or between networks in which therespective mobile terminals 100 are located. For example, the wirelesscommunication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, amobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a shortrange communication module 114, a positioning module 115, etc.

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast relate information from an external broadcast managementserver through a broadcast channel. Further, the broadcast channel mayinclude satellite and terrestrial channels. The broadcast managementserver may mean a server that generates a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast related information and transmits the generated broadcastsignal and/or broadcast related information or a server that receives apreviously generated broadcast signal and/or broadcast relatedinformation and transmits the received broadcast signal and/or broadcastrelated information to the mobile terminal. The broadcast signal mayinclude not only a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal and adata broadcast signal but also a broadcast signal obtained by combiningthe data broadcast signal with the TV broadcast signal or radiobroadcast signal.

The broadcast related information may mean information related to abroadcast channel, broadcast program or broadcast provider. Thebroadcast related information may also be provided through a mobilecommunication network. In this case, the broadcast related informationmay be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast related information may exist in various forms. Forexample, the broadcast related information may exist in the form of anelectronic program guide (EPG) of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB),an electronic service guide (ESG) of digital video broadcast-handheld(DVB-H), etc.

The broadcast receiving module 111 may receive a digital broadcastsignal using, for example, a digital broadcasting system includingdigital multimedia broadcasting-terrestrial (DMB-T), digital multimediabroadcasting-satellite (DMB-S), media forward link only (MediaFLO),digital video broadcasting-handheld (DMB-H), integrated service digitalbroadcast-terrestrial (ISDB-T), etc. It will be apparent that thebroadcast receiving module 111 may be configured to be suitable for notonly the aforementioned digital broadcasting system but also otherbroadcasting systems. The broadcast signal and/or the broadcast relatedinformation may be stored in the memory 160 through the broadcastreceiving module 111.

The mobile communication module 112 communicates a wireless signal withat least one of a base station, an external terminal and a server on amobile communication network. The wireless signal may include varioustypes of data according to the communication of a voice call signal, avideo communication call signal or character/multimedia message.

The mobile communication module 112 is configured to implement a videocommunication mode and a voice communication mode. The videocommunication mode refers to a state in which a user communicates with acompanion while watching a companion's image, and the voicecommunication mode refers to a state in which the user communicates withthe companion while not watching the companion's image. To implement thevideo communication mode and the voice communication mode, the mobilecommunication module 112 is formed to transmit/receive at least one of avoice and an image.

The wireless Internet module 113 refers to a module for wirelessInternet connection, and may be mounted inside or outside the mobileterminal 100. The wireless Internet technology may include wireless LAN(WLAN), wireless broadband (Wibro), world interoperability for microwaveaccess (Wimax), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), etc.

The short range communication module 114 refers to a module for shortrange communication. The short range communication technology mayinclude Bluetooth, radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared dataassociation (IrDA), ultra wideband (UWB), Zigbee, etc. Further, thepositioning module 115 refers to a module for obtaining the position ofa mobile terminal, and a global positioning system (GPS) module is usedas a representative example of the positioning module 115.

Referring to FIG. 1, the A/V input unit 120 is used to input an audio orvideo signal, and may include a camera 121, a microphone 122, etc. Thecamera 121 processes an image frame such as a still image or movingimage obtained by an image sensor in a video communication mode orphotographing mode. The processed image frame may be displayed on thedisplay unit 151.

The image frame processed in the camera 121 may be stored in the memory16 or may be transmitted to the outside of the mobile terminal 100through the wireless communication unit 110. The camera 121 may beprovided with two or more cameras according to the environment used.

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal by a microphone ina communication mode, recording mode, voice recognition mode, etc. andprocesses the received sound signal as electrical voice data. In case ofthe communication mode, the processed voice data may be converted into aform capable of being transmitted to a mobile communication base stationthrough the mobile communication module 112 and then transmitted.Various noise removal algorithms for removing noises generated in theprocess of receiving the input external sound signal may be implementedin the microphone 122.

The user input unit 130 generates input data through which the usercontrols operations of the mobile terminal. The user input unit 130 maybe configured to include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (staticvoltage/static current), a jog wheel, a jog switch, etc.

The sensing unit 140 senses a current state of the mobile terminal 100,such as an opening/closing state, a position of the mobile terminal 100,a presence of user's contact with the mobile terminal 100 or anincrease/decrease in the speed of the mobile terminal 100, and generatesa sensing signal for controlling an operation of the mobile terminal100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 has the form of a slidephone, the sensing unit 140 may sense the presence of opening/closing ofthe slide phone. The sensing unit 140 may sense whether or not the powersupply unit 190 supplies power, whether or not the interface unit 170 isconnected to an external device, etc.

The output unit 150 is used to generate an output related to a visualsense, auditory sense, haptic sense, etc. The output unit 150 mayinclude a display unit 151, a sound output module, an alarm unit 153, ahaptic module 154, etc. Further, the display unit 151 displays (outputs)information processed in the mobile terminal 100. For example, when themobile terminal 100 is in a communication mode, the display unit 151displays a user interface (UI) or graphic user interface (GUI) relatedto communication. When the mobile terminal 100 is in a videocommunication mode or photographing mode, the display unit 151 displaysa photographed and/or received image, UI or GUI.

The display unit 151 may include at least one of a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD),an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, a 3D displayand an electronic-ink (e-ink) display.

Some of the displays may be configured as transparent orlight-transmissive displays through which a user can see an outsideview. These displays may be called as transparent displays, and atransparent OLED (TOLED), etc. may be used as a representative of thetransparent displays. The rear structure of the display unit 151 mayalso be configured as a light-transmissive structure. Through such astructure, the user can see an object positioned at the rear of a bodyof the mobile terminal 100 through an area occupied by the display unit151 of the body of the mobile terminal 100.

Two or more display units 151 may exist according to the implementationof the mobile terminal 100. For example, in the mobile terminalaccording to the embodiments, a plurality of display units may be spacedapart from one another or integrally arranged on one surface, or may bearranged on different surfaces from one another. When the display unit151 and a sensor sensing a touch operation (hereinafter, referred to asa ‘touch sensor’) forms an inter-layer structure (hereinafter, referredto as a ‘touch screen’), the display unit 151 may be used as an inputdevice as well as an output device. The touch sensor may have the formof, for example, a touch film, touch sheet, touch pad, etc.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert, into an electrical inputsignal, a change in pressure applied to a specific portion of thedisplay unit 151, capacitance generated at the specific portion of thedisplay unit 151, etc. The touch sensor may have, for example, the formof a touch film, touch sheet, touch pad, etc.

When the touch sensor senses a touch input, a signal(s) corresponding tothe touch input is transmitted to a touch controller. The touchcontroller processes the signal(s) and transmits data corresponding tothe processed signal(s) to the control unit 180. Accordingly, thecontrol unit 180 can detect which portion of the display unit 151 hasbeen touched, etc.

Referring to FIG. 1, a proximity sensor may be disposed in an internalregion of the mobile terminal or in the vicinity of the touch screen.The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects, without anymechanical contact, the presence of an object approaching apredetermined detection surface or an object existing near thepredetermined surface using an electromagnetic force or infrared. Theproximity sensor has a longer lifetime and higher utilization than acontact sensor.

The proximity sensor may include, for example, a transmissivephotoelectric sensor, a mirror reflective photoelectric sensor, ahigh-frequency oscillation proximity sensor, a capacitive proximitysensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, an infrared proximity sensor, etc.When the touch screen is a capacitive touch screen, the touch screen isconfigured to detect the proximity of a pointer through a change inelectric field according the proximity of the pointer. In this case, thetouch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as the proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of illustration, the action that thepointer comes close to the touch screen while not being contacted on thetouch screen so as to be recognized that the pointer is placed on thetouch screen is referred to as a “proximity touch,” and the action thatthe pointer is substantially contacted on the touch screen is referredto as a “contact touch.” The position at which the pointer isproximately touched on the touch screen means a position at which whenthe pointer is proximately touched, the pointer corresponds verticallyto the touch screen.

The proximity sensor senses a proximity touch action and a proximitytouch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, proximity touchdirection, proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, proximitytouch position, proximity touch movement state, etc.). Informationcorresponding to the sensed proximity touch action and proximity touchpattern may be output on the touch screen.

The sound output module 152 may receive a call signal from the wirelesscommunication unit 110 in a communication or recoding mode, voicerecognition mode, broadcast receiving mode, etc., and may output theaudio data stored in the memory 160. The sound output module 152 mayoutput a sound signal related to a function (e.g., a call signalreceiving sound, message receiving sound, etc.) performed by the mobileterminal 100. The sound output module 152 may include a receiver, aspeaker, a buzzer, etc.

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for informing that an event occursin the mobile terminal 100. The event occurring in the mobile terminal100 includes, for example, call signal reception, message reception, keysignal input, touch input, etc. The alarm unit 153 may output, forexample, a signal for informing the occurrence of an event throughvibration, as well as a video or audio signal. Since the video or audiosignal may be output through the display unit 151 or the sound outputmodule 152, the display unit 151 and the sound output module 152 may beclassified as a portion of the alarm unit 153.

The haptic module 154 generates various haptic effects that a user canfeel. A vibration is used as a representative of the haptic effectsgenerated by the haptic module 154. The intensity and pattern of thevibration generated by the haptic module 154 may be controlled. Forexample, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or may besequentially output.

In addition to the vibration, the haptic module 154 may generate varioushaptic effects including an effect caused by the arrangement of pinsperforming a vertical movement on a contact skin surface, an effectcaused by the jet force or absorption force of air through an absorptionport, an effect caused by the graze through a skin surface, an effectcaused by the contact of an electrode, an effect caused by a stimulussuch as an electrostatic force, an effect caused by the reproduction ofa cool and warm feeling using an element for heat absorption orgeneration, etc.

The haptic module 154 may be implemented not only to provide a user witha haptic effect through a direct contact but also to allow the user tofeel a haptic effect through a muscle sense using a finger, arm, etc.The haptic module 154 may be provided with two or more haptic modulesaccording to the environment used.

The memory 160 may store a program for operations of the control unit180, and may temporarily store input/output data (e.g., a phone book, amessage, a still image, a moving image, etc.). The memory 160 may storedata for vibration and sound of various patterns, which are output whena touch is input on the touch screen.

The memory 160 may include a storage medium of at least one of a flashmemory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card typememory (e.g., an SD or XD memory, etc.), a random access memory (RAM), astatic random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and aprogrammable read-only memory (PROM). The mobile terminal 100 mayoperate a web storage performing a storage function of the memory unit160 on the Internet or may operate in relation to the web storage.

The interface unit 170 serves as a gateway to all external devicesconnected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 may receivedata from an external device, may receive power and provide the receivedpower to each of the components in the mobile terminal 100, or may allowdata in the mobile terminal 100 to be transmitted to the externaldevice. For example, the interface unit 170 may include a wired/wirelessheadset port, an external charger port, a wired/wireless data port, amemory card port, a port for connecting an apparatus provided with anidentification module, an audio input/output (I/O) port, a video I/Oport, an earphone port, etc.

The identification module is a chip in which various information forauthenticating the use right of the mobile terminal 100, and may includea user identify module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), auniversal subscriber identity module USIM, etc. The apparatus providedwith the identification module (hereinafter, referred to as an‘identification apparatus’) may be manufactured in the form of a smartcard. Therefore, the identification apparatus may be connected to themobile terminal 100 through a port.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, theinterface unit 170 may become a path along which power is supplied fromthe cradle to the mobile terminal 100, or may become a path along whichvarious command signals input from the cradle are provided to the mobileterminal 100. The power or various command signals input from the cradlemay be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal 100has been exactly mounted to the cradle.

The control unit 180 generally controls overall operations of the mobileterminal 100. For example, the control unit 180 performs relativecontrol and processing for voice conversation, data communication, videoconversation, etc. The control unit 180 may have a multimedia module 182for multimedia reproduction. The multimedia module 182 may beimplemented in the control unit 180 or may be implemented separatelyfrom the control unit 180.

The control unit 180 may perform pattern recognition processing so thata writing or drawing input performed on the touch screen can berecognized as a character or image. If the state of the mobile terminal100 satisfies a set condition, the control unit 180 may perform alocking state limiting the user's input of a command input forapplications. The control unit 180 may control a locking screendisplayed in the locking state based on a touch input sensed through thedisplay unit (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘touch screen’) 151 in thelocking state.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and/or internal powerunder a control of the control unit 180 so as to supply power necessaryfor the operation of each of the components.

The various embodiments described herein may be implemented in arecording medium readable by a computer or device similar to thecomputer, for example, using software, hardware or combination of thesoftware and hardware.

According to the implementation using the hardware, the embodimentsdescribed herein may be implemented using at least one of applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs),digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors and electrical units for performingother functions. In some cases, the embodiments described in thisspecification may be implemented as the control unit 180 itself.

According to the implementation using the software, embodiments such asprocedures and functions described in this specification may beimplemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modulesmay perform one or more functions and operations described in thisspecification.

Software codes may be implemented using a software application writtenby an appropriate programming language. The software codes may be storedin the memory 160, and may be performed by the control unit 180.

Meanwhile, information processed in the mobile terminal 100 may bedisplayed using a flexible display. Hereinafter, the flexible displayunit will be described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. FIGS. 2A and 2B are conceptual diagrams illustrating theflexible display unit included in the mobile terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2A (a) and (b), the flexible display unit 151 includesa display capable of being bent, folded or rolled by a physical forceapplied to the outside thereof. Here, the flexible display unit 151 mayinclude both a general flexible display and an electronic paper.

The general flexible display refers to a solid display that is light andunbreakable by being manufactured on a thin and flexible substratecapable of being bent, folded or rolled, such as paper, whilemaintaining display characteristics of existing flat-panel displays.

The electronic paper refers to a display technique to which features ofa general ink are applied. The electronic paper may be different fromthe general flat-panel display in which the electronic paper usesreflected light. In the electronic paper, figures or characters may bechanged by utilizing twist balls or utilizing electrophoresis usingcapsules.

Meanwhile, a detection unit 181 (see FIG. 1) is provided on the flexibledisplay unit 151, so as to detect bending information of the flexibledisplay unit 151. In this specification, the term ‘bending’ may includeall meanings of ‘bending,’ ‘rolling,’ ‘folding’ and ‘curving.’

The detection unit 181 may be entirely or partially disposed on theflexible display unit 151, and may detect bending information of theflexible display unit 151. Here, the bending information may include abent direction of the flexible display unit, a bent degree of theflexible display unit, a bent direction of the flexible display unit, abent time of the flexible display unit, an acceleration at which thebent flexible display unit is restored to the original state, etc. Inaddition, the bending information may be various information detectabledue to the bending of the flexible display 151.

The control unit 180 may change information on displayed on the flexibledisplay unit 151 or generate a control signal for controlling a functionof the mobile terminal, based on the bending information of the flexibledisplay unit 151, detected by the detection unit 181.

When the flexible display unit 151 is bent corresponding to an externalphysical force, the control unit 180 may rearrange as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and (b), separate or combine screen images previously displayed onthe flexible display unit 151, or may change a song, according to thebent direction of the flexible display unit, the bent angle of theflexible display unit and the acceleration at which the flexible displayunit is restored to the original state.

For example, if the flexible display unit 151 is bent inward by theexternal physical force as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and (b), the controlunit 180 may control the screen images displayed on the flexible displayunit 151 to be displayed while coming close to one another. On thecontrary, if the flexible display unit 151 is bent outward by theexternal physical force, the control unit 180 may control the screenimages displayed on the flexible display unit 151 to be displayed whilebeing spaced apart from one another.

In addition to the methods described above, the control unit 180 mayvariously control the method of displaying information on the flexibledisplay unit 151 so that a user can exactly recognize the informationdisplayed on the flexible display unit 151, corresponding to the bendingof the flexible display unit 151.

Meanwhile, the mobile terminal 100 including the flexible display unit151 may include a case 200 surrounding the flexible display unit 151 asshown in FIG. 2B. The case 200 may be implemented to be bent togetherwith the flexible display unit 151 by the external physical force, inconsideration of the characteristics of the flexible display unit 151.

As described above, the control unit 180 may generate a control signalrelated to a function of the mobile terminal 100, corresponding to thebending information of the flexible display unit 151.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the mobile terminal in relation tothe bending information of the flexible display unit, particularly,information on a time for which the bending of the flexible display unitis maintained will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Next, FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of generatinga control signal using the flexible display in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4Care conceptual diagrams illustrating the control method of FIG. 3.

First, when an external physical force is applied on the flexibledisplay unit 151 (see FIG. 2A), the detection unit 181 (see FIG. 1)detects bending of the flexible display unit 151 and detects a time forwhich the bending is maintained (S310). Here, the external physicalforce applied on the flexible display unit 151 may be applied by a useror an object other than the user.

If the bending of the flexible display unit 151 and the time for whichthe bending is maintained are detected by the detection unit 181 in stepS310, the control unit 180 generates different control signals relatedto functions of the mobile terminal including the flexible display unit151, based on the time for which the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 is maintained (S320).

Here, the control signals related to the ‘functions of the mobileterminal including the flexible display unit’ are control signals forcontrolling the mobile terminal 100. Therefore, in the mobile terminalaccording to the embodiments, the function according to the controlsignal generated corresponding to the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 may be performed. Further, the control unit 180 generatesdifferent control signals, corresponding to different times for whichthe bending is maintained. Thus, in the mobile terminal according to theembodiments, different functions can be performed using only the bendingof the flexible display unit 151.

That is, the control unit 180 may generate a first control signalrelated to a first function when the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 is maintained for a first reference time, and may generate asecond control signal related to a second function when the bending ofthe flexible display unit 151 is maintained for a second reference time.

As such, the function corresponding to the control signal generatedaccording to the bending of the flexible display unit 151 and the timefor the bending is maintained may be performed when the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is restored, i.e., when the flexible displayunit 151 returns to the original state. If the time for the bending ofthe flexible display unit 151 is maintained corresponds to only thepredetermined reference time even though the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is not restored, the control unit 180 may perform thefunction according to the control signal.

For example, if a physical force is applied on the flexible display unit151 as shown in FIG. 4A (b) in the state in which a home screen page (ormenu screen) 200 is displayed on the flexible display unit 151 as shownin FIG. 4A (a), the detection unit 181 detects bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 and a time for the bending is maintained.

When the time for which the bending is maintained corresponds to thefirst reference time as shown in FIG. 4A (c), the control unit 180 maygenerate a control signal that allows a locking state (referring to alocking screen 210) to be performed on the flexible display unit 151 ofthe mobile terminal.

Here, the locking state is used to restrict a user's input of a controlcommand for applications. In this state, although a touch applied by theuser is input on the flexible display unit 151, the control command isnot generated based on the touch.

When the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained corresponds to the second reference time different from thefirst reference time described in FIG. 4A in the state in which the homescreen page (or menu screen) 200 is displayed on the flexible displayunit 151 as shown in FIGS. 4B (a) and (b), the control unit 180 maygenerate a control signal for turning off power of the mobile terminal(see a popup window 210), as shown in FIG. 4B (c).

That is, the control unit 180 may generate different control signalscorresponding to different functions according to a degree of the timefor which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained.

Meanwhile, the control signal corresponding to the function that can beperformed based on the bending of the flexible display unit 151 and thetime for which the bending is maintained may be changed depending oninformation displayed on the flexible display unit 151 at a time pointat which the bending is detected, a kind of activated application orwhich event occurs.

Therefore, the control unit 180 may allow different control signals tobe respectively matched to different functions, based on the time forwhich the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained andstate information of the mobile terminal at the time point at which thecontrol signal is generated, and such matching information may be storedin the memory (see FIG. 1). Here, the state information of the mobileterminal may be information displayed on the flexible display unit 151,a kind of activated application or an event occurred at a time point atwhich the bending is detected or at a time point at which the controlsignal is generated corresponding to the bending.

As such, the control unit 180 may search for a function corresponding tothe time for which the bending is maintained and the state informationof the mobile terminal, detected by the detection unit 181, and generatea control signal so that the searched function can be performed.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the control unit 180 may perform thefunction corresponding to the control signal generated, based on thatthe bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detected and thedetection is maintained for a reference time, when the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is restored. Alternatively, as shown in FIG.4C, the control unit 180 may perform the function corresponding to apredetermined reference time (e.g., a first or second reference time),based on that the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintainedfor the predetermined reference time, regardless of the restoration ofthe bending of the flexible display unit 151.

Therefore, when the time for which the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 is maintained exceeds the first reference time as shown inFIGS. 4C (a) and (b), the control unit 180 may perform a locking stateas shown in FIG. 4C (c). Continuously, when the time for which thebending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained exceeds thesecond reference time via the first reference time, the control unit 180may perform a function related to the power of the mobile terminal asshown in FIG. 4C (d).

Meanwhile, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments, thecontrol unit 180 may inform a user that the time for which the bendingof the flexible display unit 151 is maintained is counted in the mobileterminal using visual or voice information, based on the bending of theflexible display unit 151. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4D (a), (b)and (c), the control unit 180 counts a time for which the bending ismaintained, based on the bending of the flexible display unit 151, andoutputs the counted time on the flexible display unit 151.

Thus, the user can see that the first or second reference time iscounted, and can see how further the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 is necessarily maintained so that a desired function isperformed.

Meanwhile, as shown in these figures, counting time information may bedisplayed as a relationship between a reference time and an actuallycounted time through a progress bar 310 or another image or text. Inaddition, information on the actually counted time may be displayedusing various images (e.g., a sandglass, etc.) or texts.

In addition to the examples described above, the control unit 180 maydisplay a bending time of the flexible display unit 151 and apredetermined reference time using various methods so that the user canrecognize the bending time of the flexible display unit 151 and thepredetermined reference time.

Meanwhile, if the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detectedby the detection unit 181 regardless of the position at which thebending of the flexible display unit 151 is sensed, the control unit 180may control the detection unit 181 to detect the time for which thebending is maintained. Alternatively, the control unit 180 may controlthe detection unit 181 so that a control signal is generatedcorresponding to the bending of the flexible display unit 151 based on apredetermined region or predetermined reference axis on the flexibledisplay unit 151.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 4E (a) and (b), the control unit 180 maygenerate a control signal on a predetermined first region 210, based onthat the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detected. Thepredetermined region may be formed with one region as shown in thesefigures, or may be calmed with a plurality of regions. When thepredetermined region is formed with a plurality of regions, the controlunit 180 may allow different functions to be respectively mapped to theplurality of regions, so that the control signals corresponding to thefunctions can be generated on the plurality of regions, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 4F (a) and (b), the detection unit 181 may detect thatthe bending of the flexible display unit 151 is made, based on apredetermined virtual reference axis 210, and the control unit 180 maygenerate a control signal only when the bending is made based on thereference axis 210.

Meanwhile, the position of the predetermined region or reference axisdescribed above may be changed to an arbitrary position depending on auser's setup. In this case, the control signal may not be generated eventhough the flexible display unit 151 is bent in a region that is not thepredetermined region.

The control unit 180 may output at least one of information on thepredetermined region, time and function, which cause the control signalto be generated, on the flexible display unit 151 so that the user canrecognize the at least one of information on the predetermined region,time and function.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4G (a), the control unit 180 may displaythe predetermined region 210 that causes the control signal related tothe function of the mobile terminal so that the predetermined region 210is distinguished from other regions. The control unit 180 may outputinformation on a function that can be performed by the bending of apredetermined region 210 on the flexible display unit 151 using visualor voice information.

As shown in FIG. 4G (b), the control unit 180 may control the flexibledisplay unit 151 so that notification information on the function thatcan be performed, in response to the bending of an arbitrary region orpredetermined region on the flexible display unit 151.

As shown in this figure, if one region of the flexible display unit 151is bent, the control unit 180 may provided the user with information onfunctions according to different times at which the bending ismaintained, such as ‘Maintain bending for 3 seconds: perform lockingstate, or Maintain bending for 5 seconds: power off.’ Thus, the user canproperly use a desired function through the information output on theflexible display unit 151.

When different functions are, respectively, mapped to different regionsof the flexible display unit 151, the control unit 180, as shown in FIG.4G (c), may provide the user with visual or auditory information so thatthe user can recognize regions 210 and 220 to which the respectivefunctions are mapped and function information, bending directioninformation and time information corresponding to the regions 210 and220.

Meanwhile, although the bending of the flexible display unit 151 isdetected, the control unit 180 may not generate a control signal whenthe time at which the bending is detected is less than a predeterminedreference time. This is provided to prevent an unnecessary controlsignal from being generated when a physical force is applied to theflexible display unit 151 in spite of a user's intention.

As described above, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,the control signal related to the function of the mobile terminal can begenerated using the characteristic in which the flexible display unit151 is bent corresponding to the physical force applied from the outsideand the time for which the bending is maintained. Thus, it is possibleto reduce user's inconvenience caused by applying a separate touch onthe flexible display unit 151 so as to generate a control signal.

Hereinafter, a method of performing various functions related to anevent occurring in the mobile terminal, using the bending of theflexible display unit, will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B and 6C are conceptualdiagrams illustrating a method of generating a control signal throughthe flexible display unit corresponding to an event in the mobileterminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 180 of the mobile terminal 100 may control thedetection unit 181 to detect the bending of the flexible display unit151 and the time for which the bending is maintained, in response tothat an event occurs in at least one of a plurality of applications.That is, the control unit 180 may generate a control signalcorresponding to a function that can be performed in relation to theevent occurring in the mobile terminal, based on the bending of theflexible display unit 151.

As an example, when the flexible display unit 151 is bent by an externalphysical force as shown in FIG. 5A (b) in the state in which a ‘callevent’ occurs in the mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 5A (a), thecontrol unit 180 controls the detection unit 181 to detect the time forwhich the bending is maintained.

When the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained exceeds a first reference time as shown in FIG. 5A (c), thecontrol unit 180 generates a control signal corresponding to apredetermined first function mapped to the first reference time amongfunctions related to the ‘call event.’ When the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is restored as shown in FIG. 5A (c), the control unit180 performs a function corresponding to the generated control signal.Here, the first function may be a function of ‘reception holding’ asshown in this figure.

When the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained exceeds a second reference time different from the firstreference time as shown in FIG. 5A (d), the control unit 180 generates acontrol signal corresponding to a predetermined second function matchedto the second reference time among the functions related to the ‘callevent.’ When the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is restored asshown in FIG. 5A (d), the control unit 180 performs a functioncorresponding to the generated control signal. Here, the second functionmay be a function of ‘reception rejection’ as shown in this figure.

As another example, when the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained for the first reference time in response to the ‘call event(or call reception event),’ the control unit 180 may perform a callreception function so that a call corresponding to the call receptionevent can be received. When the bending of the flexible display unit 151is maintained for the second reference time different from the firstreference time, the control unit 180 may perform a message function sothat a message can be transmitted to an external terminal correspondingto the call reception event. As such, the function that can be performedcorresponding to the event occurring in the mobile terminal and thebending of the flexible display unit 151 may be variously set, and theuser may separately set the function corresponding to the bending of theflexible display unit 151 and the time for which the bending ismaintained.

Here, the first and second functions may be functions related tofunctional icons 211, 212 and 213 output corresponding to the occurrenceof the ‘call event’ shown in FIG. 5A (a), and may be functions differentfrom the functions corresponding to the functional icons 211, 212 and213.

The control unit 180 may also inform the user of the function that canbe performed, based on that the flexible display unit 151 is bent forthe predetermined time or more, by outputting notification information(voice or visual information). Further, the control unit 180 may providecounting time information using an image, popup window, text or voice sothat the user can recognize that the first or second reference time iscounted based on the bending of the flexible display unit 151.

The control unit 180, as shown in FIG. 5B, may sequentially perform afunction corresponding to a predetermined reference time (e.g., first orsecond reference time) based on that the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 is maintained for the predetermined reference time, regardlessof the restoration of the bending of the flexible display unit 151.

For example, when the ‘call event’ occurs and the time for which thebending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained exceeds the firstreference time as shown in FIGS. 5B (a) and (b), the control unit 180may perform the function of ‘reception holding,’ which holds thereception of a call, as shown in FIG. 5B (c). When the bending of theflexible display unit 151 exceeds the second reference time via thefirst reference time, the control unit 180 may perform the function of‘reception rejection,’ which finishes the reception of the call, asshown in FIG. 5B (d).

As described above, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,when the bending of the flexible display unit is maintained for apredetermined time after an event occurs in the mobile terminal, afunction related to the occurrence of the event can be performed, andfurther, different functions related to the event can be performed usingdifferent times for which the bending is maintained. Thus, to performthe function related to the event, the user can simply control thefunction of the mobile terminal using only the bending of the flexibledisplay unit, without applying a touch input on the flexible displayunit and selecting the function.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the mobile terminal using thebending of the flexible display unit when an event occurs in the mobileterminal and a popup window for informing that the event has occurred isoutput will be described. When an event occurs in the mobile terminalaccording to the embodiments, the control unit 180 may output a popupwindow 200 for informing that the event has occurred as shown in FIG. 6A(a).

In the state in which the popup window 200 is output, the control unit180 may control an output state of the popup window 200 or perform afunction correspond to the occurrence of the event, in response to thebending of the flexible display unit 151.

For example, when the bending of the flexible display unit 151 isdetected in the state in which the popup window 200 is output as shownin FIG. 6A (a) and (b), the control unit 180 may control the detectionunit 181 to detect the time for which the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is maintained. Then, the control unit 180 may generatecontrol signals corresponding to different functions, based on differenttimes for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained. Here, the different functions corresponding to the differenttimes for which the bending is maintained may be previously matched andstored in the memory 160 as described above.

If the popup window 200 is output in response to that the event of‘message reception’ as shown in FIG. 6A (a) and the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is detected by the detection unit 181 as shownin FIG. 6A (b), the control unit 180 controls the detection unit 181 tocount the time for the bending is maintained.

If the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is restored after thetime for which the bending is maintained exceeds the first referencetime as shown in FIG. 6A (c), the control unit 180 finishes outputtingthe popup window 200 and continuously outputs the information output onthe flexible display unit 151 before the event occurs.

When the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151corresponds to the second reference time different from the firstreference time as shown in FIG. 6A (d), the control unit 180 generates acontrol signal for displaying the content of a message corresponding tothe event of ‘message reception.’ When the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is restored by outputting a message window 300 as shownin FIG. 6A (d), the control unit 180 may perform a functioncorresponding to the generated control signal.

In the mobile terminal according to the embodiments, the detection unit181 may detect a bending direction of the flexible display unit 151 andperform different functions according to the detected bending direction.

For example, when the flexible display unit 151 is bent in a firstdirection ‘a’ as shown in FIGS. 6B (a) and (b), the control unit 180performs the function related to the event occurring in the mobileterminal, based on the time for which the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is maintained, as described in FIG. 6A. As an example,when the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151corresponds to the first reference time, the control unit 180 may outputthe message window 300 on the flexible display unit 151 as shown in FIG.6B (c).

When the flexible display unit 151 is bent in a second direction ‘b’different from the first direction ‘a’ as shown in FIG. 6B (d), thecontrol unit 180 may control the flexible display unit 151 so that thepopup window 200 output on the flexible display unit 151 is not output.Further, the control unit 180 may provide counting time informationusing an image, popup window, text or voice so that the user canrecognize that the first or second reference time is counted, based onthe bending of the flexible display unit 151.

As such, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments of thepresent invention, various control signal can be generated using thebending characteristic of the flexible display unit 151, by matchingfunctions related to the mobile terminal not only to the time for whichthe bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained but also tothe bending direction of the flexible display unit 151.

Meanwhile, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,information displayed in the mobile terminal may be changed according tothe time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained. For example, if a popup window 200 is output in response tothe occurrence of an event of ‘message reception’ as shown in FIG. 6C(a) and the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detected by thedetection unit 181 as shown in FIG. 6C (b), the control unit 180controls the detection unit 181 to count the time for which the bendingis maintained.

If the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151exceeds the first reference time as shown in FIG. 6C (c), the controlunit 180 outputs a preview screen 210 so that the content of a messagecorresponding to the event is output on the flexible display unit 151.Here, the preview screen 210 may be overlapped with the screen imageoutput on the flexible display unit 151 before the event occurs.

If the time for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151exceeds the second reference time via the first reference time, thecontrol unit 180 may control the flexible display unit 151 so that anexecution screen 300 corresponding to the event is entirely output onthe flexible display unit 151.

Meanwhile, if the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is finishedbefore the second reference time elapses via the first reference time,the preview screen 210 may disappear on the flexible display unit 151.

If the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is finished after thesecond reference time elapses, the control unit 180 may finish theoutput of the execution screen corresponding to the event orcontinuously maintains the output of the execution screen. When theoutput of the execution screen is finished, the control unit 180 maycontinuously output the information output on the flexible display unit151 before the execution screen is output.

As described above, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,the preview screen or execution screen is displayed according to thetime for which the bending of the flexible display unit is maintained,so that although the user does not execute an application correspondingto the event, the user can simply identify the content of the eventthrough the preview screen.

Hereinafter, a method of informing a user of information on functionsthat can be performed according to the bending of the flexible displayunit in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 7A and 7Bare conceptual diagrams illustrating a method of changing notificationinformation corresponding to bending of the flexible display unit in themobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the mobile terminal according to the embodiments, functional icons(or items) corresponding to functions related to information displayedon the flexible display unit may be displayed in response to the bendingof the flexible display unit or user's selection.

For example, if an event of ‘message reception’ occurs in the mobileterminal as shown in FIG. 7A (a) and the bending of the flexible displayunit 151 is detected as shown in FIG. 7A (b), the control unit 180 maycontrol the flexible display unit 151 so that a plurality of items 210respectively corresponding to functions that can be performedcorresponding to the event of ‘message reception’ are output on theflexible display unit 151.

The control unit 180 may control the flexible display unit 151 so thatfunctional icons (or items) related to the information output on theflexible display unit 151, in response to the detected bending of theflexible display unit 151, as well as the case in which the event occursin the mobile terminal.

Meanwhile, if the plurality of items 210 are output on the flexibledisplay unit 151 as described in FIG. 7A, the control unit 180 maygenerate a control signal for selecting any one of the plurality ofitems 210 according to a degree of the time for which the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is maintained. When the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is restored to the original state, the controlunit 180 may perform a function corresponding to the generated controlsignal.

Meanwhile, the control signal generated based on the time for which thebending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained may correspond tothe order in which the plurality of items 210 are arranged on theflexible display unit 151. For example, when the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is maintained for the first reference time as shown inFIG. 7B (a), the control unit 180 may generate a control signalcorresponding to the function of ‘preview,’ which is firstly disposedamong the plurality of items 210. When the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is maintained for the second reference time longer thanthe first reference time as shown in FIG. 7B (b), the control unit 180may generate a control signal corresponding to the function of ‘messagecheck,’ which is secondly disposed among the plurality of items 210.

As such, the control unit 180 can determine a function that can beperformed corresponding to the time for which the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is maintained among a plurality of functionsthat can be performed in relation to an event occurring in the mobileterminal or information output in the mobile terminal.

The control unit 180, as shown in FIGS. 7B (a), (b) and (c), may displayan item corresponding to the determined function among the plurality ofitems 210 corresponding to the respective functions so that the item isdistinguished from the other items. Here, the method of displaying theitem corresponding to the determined function so that the item isdistinguished from the other items may be variously implemented byperforming magnification or reduction, color changing, flickeringdisplay, or transparency changing on the item corresponding to thedetermined function.

The control unit 180 may re-determine a function that can be performedcorresponding to the time changed according to the change in the timefor which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained,and change an item highlighted so that the item corresponding to there-determined function among the plurality of items 210 is distinguishedfrom the other items.

Thus, the control unit 180 highlights the item of ‘preview’ when thetime for which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ismaintained exceeds the first reference time as shown in FIG. 7B (a), andthe control unit highlights the item of ‘message check’ when the timefor which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintainedexceeds the second reference time as shown in FIG. 7B (b). When the timefor which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintainedexceeds a third reference time as shown in FIG. 7B (c), the control unit180 may highlight an item of ‘phone call.’

Meanwhile, when an item corresponding to a function to be performed bythe user is highlighted, the control unit 180 may perform the functionto be performed by restoring the bending of the flexible display unit151. Therefore, if the bending of the flexible display unit 151 isrestored in the state in which the item of ‘phone call’ is highlightedas shown in FIGS. 7B (c) and (d), the control unit 180 may perform thefunction of ‘phone call.’

As described above, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,the control signal for allowing any one of the plurality of items to beselected can be generated using the fact that the bending of theflexible display unit and the different times for which the bending ismaintained. Further, in the mobile terminal according to theembodiments, the item corresponding to the time for which the bending ofthe flexible display unit is maintained among the plurality of items, sothat the user can exactly select the item intended to select among theplurality of items.

Meanwhile, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiment, thecontrol unit 180 may control information output on the flexible displayunit 151, based on the bending position, bending direction or bendingspeed of the flexible display unit 151, as well as the time for whichthe bending of the flexible display unit 151 is maintained.

Hereinafter, a method of displaying information corresponding to thebending information of the flexible display unit 151 will be describedwith the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 8A and 8B are conceptual diagramsillustrating a method of changing information displayed on the flexibledisplay unit corresponding to bending of the flexible display unit inthe mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For example, the execution screen of a gallery application that cansearch and display images stored in the memory 160 are displayed in FIG.8A (a).

At least one group may exist on the gallery application, and at leastone image may be included in each of the groups. As an example, when thegroups included in the gallery application are first, second, third andfourth groups 210, 220, 230 and 240 as shown in this figure, the usermay select any one of the groups using a touch input for the displayedgroups or bending of the flexible display unit 151.

The method of selecting any one of the groups using the bending of theflexible display unit 151 may use the bending time of the flexibledisplay unit 151 as described in FIGS. 7A and 7B. In addition to themethod, the user may select any one of the plurality of groups bybending a region on which the group intended to select is displayed.

Meanwhile, if any one of the plurality of groups is selected using themethod described above and any one image 211 included in the selectedgroup is output as shown in FIG. 8A (b), the control unit 180 maymagnify or reduce the image 211 using the bending information of theflexible display unit 151.

For example, if the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detectedfor a predetermined time or more as shown in FIGS. 8A (b) and (c), thecontrol unit 180 may magnify the image 211. If the bending of theflexible display unit 151 is detected in a second direction for thepredetermined time or more as shown in FIG. 8B (d), the control unit 180may reduce the image 211.

The control unit 180 may magnify or reduce the image 211 based on theregion on which the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detectedand a region corresponding to the detected region. In addition, thecontrol unit 180 may control a degree of the magnification or reductionof the image 211 according to the bending speed of the flexible displayunit 151.

Meanwhile, although the ‘image’ will be described as an example in theembodiments, this is merely one embodiment, and the control unit mayapply all information displayed on the flexible display unit, as well asthe ‘image,’ to the embodiments.

Hereinafter, a method of scrolling information displayed on the flexibledisplay unit using the bending characteristic of the flexible displayunit and the time for which the bending is maintained will be described.The control unit 180 may control scrolling amounts of the informationdisplayed on the flexible display unit 151 to be different from eachother according to the time at which an arbitrary region orpredetermined region of the flexible display unit 151 is bent.

That is, the control unit 180 may control scrolling degrees of theinformation to be different from each other according to the time atwhich the bending of the flexible display unit 151 is detected. Forexample, the control unit 180 may control the scrolling amount of theinformation when the flexible display unit 151 is bent for the firstreference time as shown in FIGS. 8B (a) and (b) to be different fromthat of the information when the flexible display unit 151 is bent forthe first reference time as shown in FIGS. 8B (b) and (c).

Here, the first reference time may be shorter than the second referencetime, and the bending of the flexible display unit 151, corresponding tothe first reference time, may be an instantaneous bending in a tabmethod. The control unit 180 may also provide counting time informationusing an image, popup window, text or voice so that the user canrecognize that the first or second reference time is counted based onthe bending of the flexible display unit 151.

As described above, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,information output on the flexible display unit can be variouslycontrolled using the characteristics of the flexible display unit,without utilizing any touch input.

Hereinafter, a method of converting a locking state of the mobileterminal into a cancellation state of the mobile terminal using thebending characteristic of the flexible display unit and the time forwhich the bending is maintained will be described.

In the mobile terminal according to the embodiments, it is possible toconvert the locking state into the cancellation state using the bendingcharacteristic of the flexible display unit. As an example, the user mayset a pattern for converting the locking state into the cancellationstate through a description screen as shown in FIG. 9A.

As shown in FIG. 9A (a), the control unit 180 may receive a bendingposition, bending maintenance time and bending direction of the flexibledisplay unit 151, set through setup windows 210 and 220, so as to cancelthe locking state. The user may set a position at which the bending isto be detected, using the guide lines ‘a’ and ‘b’ shown in FIG. 9B, andmay set at least one bending pattern through an icon ‘Add,’ etc.

If the setting of the bending pattern for cancelling the locking stateis completed as shown in FIGS. 9A (b) and (c), the control unit 180 maystore the bending pattern set by the user, and convert the locking stateinto the cancellation state of the mobile terminal only when the setbending pattern is input from when the next locking state is cancelled.

As shown in FIG. 9B (a), the control unit 180 may output notificationinformation for guiding the bending of the flexible display unit 151 ona locking screen 200 displayed in the locking state. The control unit180 may determine whether or not the bending pattern of the flexibledisplay pattern 151 corresponds to the pattern set through the settingscreen of FIG. 9A.

For example, if the bending of the flexible display unit 151 isdetected, based on the reference axis ‘a’ corresponding to a firstbending pattern set in FIG. 9A, as shown in FIG. 9B (b), the controlunit 180 counts a first setup time set corresponding to the firstbending pattern. Here, the control unit 180 may output counting timeinformation 311 on the locking screen so as to inform the user that theinformation on the first setup time and the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 are detected.

Next, if the bending of the flexible display unit 151, corresponding tothe first bending pattern, is maintained for the first setup time, thecontrol unit 180 determines whether or not the bending of the flexibledisplay unit 151 is detected, based on the reference axis ‘b’corresponding to a second bending pattern, as shown in FIG. 9B (c). Ifthe bending of the flexible display unit 151, corresponding to thesecond bending pattern, is maintained for a second setup time setcorresponding to the second bending pattern, the control unit 180converts the locking state into the cancellation state of the mobileterminal, as shown in FIG. 9B (d).

When the input of the first bending pattern is maintained for the firstsetup time as shown in FIGS. 9C (a) and (b), the control unit 180 mayoutput notification information for receiving the second bendingpattern. The control unit 180 may set a waiting time at which the nextpattern can be received by the setting of the user or the control unit180. When the next pattern is not input during the waiting time, thecontrol unit 180 may convert, into an initialization state, the inputprocess of a control command for converting the locking state into thecancellation state, as shown in FIG. 9C (c). When a pattern differentfrom the predetermined bending pattern is input, the control unit 180may provide information on the predetermined bending pattern byoutputting notification information for informing the user that thepredetermined pattern has not been input or by outputting a guide linecorresponding to the predetermined bending pattern.

As described above, in the mobile terminal according to the embodiments,the locking state can be easily converted into the cancellation stateusing the bending characteristic of the flexible display unit.

Further, in the mobile terminal and the control method thereof accordingto the embodiments, the control signal for executing any one of aplurality of functions that can be performed in the mobile terminal canbe generated using the bending of the flexible display unit and the timefor which the bending is maintained. Thus, although a touch input is notapplied on the flexible display unit so as to select any one of aplurality of functions, the user can easily perform the function thatcan be performed in the mobile terminal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the aforementionedmethods may be implemented as codes readable by a processor in a mediumin which a program is recorded. The medium readable by the processor mayinclude, for example, a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppydisk, an optic data storage, etc. The medium may be implemented in theform of a carrier wave (e.g., transmission through the Internet).

The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely examples and are notto be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The presentteachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Thisdescription is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scopeof the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will beapparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods,and other characteristics of the embodiments described herein may becombined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternativeembodiments.

As the present features may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of thedetails of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, butrather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in theappended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fallwithin the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metesand bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal comprising: a flexible displayunit configured to be bent in response to an applied physical force; adetection unit configured to detect a bending of the flexible displayunit; and a control unit configured to: count a time for which thebending is maintained if the bending is detected in response to theapplied physical force, and execute at least one of a first function ora second function according to the time for which the bending ismaintained, wherein the second function is executed when the bending ofthe flexible display unit is maintained for a reference time, the secondfunction being executed after the first function is executed.
 2. Themobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first function or the secondfunction are executed when the bending of the flexible display unit isreleased.
 3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first functionand the second function are determined based on information displayed onthe flexible display unit at a time point at which the bending isdetected, a kind of activated application or which event occurs.
 4. Themobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the reference time for which thebending is maintained is counted after the first function is executed.5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the control unit is furtherconfigured to control the flexible display unit to display the countedtime.
 6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the control unit isfurther configured to sense an event has occurred on the mobile terminalwhile the flexible display is not being bent, and then to perform thefirst function or the second function.
 7. The mobile terminal of claim6, wherein when the event is an incoming call event indicating a call isincoming, the first and second functions include at least one of anaccept incoming call function for accepting the incoming call, and areject incoming call function for rejecting the incoming call.
 8. Themobile terminal of claim 6, wherein when the event is an incomingmessage event indicating a message is incoming, the first and secondfunctions include at least one of an accept indicating function forindicating an acceptance of the incoming message event, a messagedisplay contents function for displaying contents of the incomingmessage, a message execution function for displaying an input writingscreen for responding to the incoming message, and an options menuoption for displaying an options menu including a plurality of functionsfor responding to the incoming message.
 9. The mobile terminal of claim1, wherein the first function is a locking mode function for locking themobile terminal, and the second function is a turn-off function forturning off the mobile terminal.
 10. The mobile terminal of claim 1,wherein the controller is further configured to display different groupsof information on the flexible display unit, and wherein the first andsecond functions include at least one of selecting and highlight thedifferent groups of information, magnifying content included in aselected group of information, reducing the content included in theselected group of information, and scrolling the different groups ofinformation on the flexible display unit.
 11. The mobile terminal ofclaim 1, wherein the flexible display unit is configured to be flexedalong a longitudinal axis, along a horizontal axis and at edges of themobile terminal.
 12. A method of controlling a mobile terminal, themethod comprising: detecting a bending of the flexible display unit,wherein the flexible display unit is configured to be bent in responseto an applied physical force; counting a time for which the bending ismaintained if the bending is detected in response to the appliedphysical force; and executing at least one of a first function or asecond function according to the time for which the bending ismaintained, wherein the second function is executed when the bending ofthe flexible display unit is maintained for a reference time, the secondfunction being executed after the first function is executed.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the first function or the second functionare executed when the bending of the flexible display unit is released.14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first function and the secondfunction are determined based on information displayed on the flexibledisplay unit at a time point at which the bending is detected, a kind ofactivated application or which event occurs.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein the reference time for which the bending is maintained iscounted after the first function is executed.
 16. The method of claim15, further comprising controlling the flexible display unit to displaythe counted time.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein an event hasoccurred on the mobile terminal is sensed while the flexible display isnot being bent, and then the first function or the second function areperformed.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein when the event is anincoming call event indicating a call is incoming, the first and secondfunctions include at least one of an accept incoming call function foraccepting the incoming call, and a reject incoming call function forrejecting the incoming call.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein whenthe event is an incoming message event indicating a message is incoming,the first and second functions include at least one of an acceptindicating function for indicating an acceptance of the incoming messageevent, a message display contents function for displaying contents ofthe incoming message, a message execution function for displaying aninput writing screen for responding to the incoming message, and anoptions menu option for displaying an options menu including a pluralityof functions for responding to the incoming message.
 20. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the first function is a locking mode function forlocking the mobile terminal, and the second function is a turn-offfunction for turning off the mobile terminal.